Tag: UConn Huskies

Oregon MBB recap: Ducks downed by UConn Huskies in PK85 opener

The Oregon Ducks looked listless and out of sports in a demoralizing loss to the UConn Huskies in the PK85 Invitational on Thursday.

It was forgivable – understandable even – that the Oregon Ducks dropped a game to the Houston Cougars last week to move to 2-2 on the season. Houston looks like perhaps the best team in all of college basketball, and Oregon held them to 66 points and hung tough throughout.

However – Thursday’s performance against the UConn Huskies in the Phil Knight Invitational didn’t give Duck fans anything to be thankful for.

Dana Altman’s squad shot an abysmal 20-for-47 from the field, good for just 42.6%, while turning the ball over a whopping 17 times. Factor in a horrific 14-25 showing at the free throw line and you have all the makings of a world class beatdown, suffered on Nike founder Phil Knight’s birthday in Portland, just a few hours north of Matthew Knight Arena. Yikes.

Here is some more info on Thursday’s tough outing for the Ducks, and what is coming up for Altman’s team this weekend:

UConn’s Jim Mora: Michigan is a national championship contender

Strong words from a coach who has overseen some really good teams in his history. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — “I’ve never had a day like this in my career.” Though he may not have expected to beat No. 4 Michigan in The Big House, UConn’s first-year head coach, Jim Mora Jr., has overseen some high-quality teams.

Mora was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks in the NFL, before taking a moribund UCLA Bruins team and bringing it to a respectable level a few years ago. He has a huge challenge in Storrs to overhaul perhaps the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

After Michigan’s 59-0 drubbing of the Huskies, Mora spoke to reporters, and he said he knew before his team kicked off that they were in trouble on Saturday.

“I looked down in pregame warmup, it looked like an army down there,” Mora said. “They had so many players and they’re all great players. That’s why I don’t think — they are a contender for the national championship right now. It’s not in dispute in my opinion.”

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This is now the third straight game the Wolverines have met an overmatched opponent, and for the third straight game, the maize and blue have done precisely what they were supposed to: dominate convincingly and unrelentingly. You can criticize who Michigan has played, but you can’t criticize how it’s played.

Mora, of course, has a pretty good idea of what a championship team looks like, regardless of the team he brought to Ann Arbor. And what he saw on Saturday was a team with essentially no weaknesses.

“They have 140 players that are big, fast, strong, physical, well-coached,” Mora said. “They play with violence; they play with energy. They don’t miss tackles. They challenge you. They run the ball well. They pass the ball well. Their quarterback runs it well. They’ve got speed all over the field.”

We’ll know more in Week 4 when Michigan finally opens Big Ten play when it hosts Maryland. That game will kick off at noon EDT and will be Fox Sports’ premier game as “Big Noon Kickoff.”

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Notes/tidbits: Things you may not have known about Michigan football’s 59-0 win over UConn

Really interesting facts coming out of the game! #GoBlue

Michigan football did what it was supposed to do against a bad UConn team, dominating the game from start to finish. In fact, the Wolverines dominated the Huskies so much that they used101 players, and ended up playing seven quarterbacks in the game, with every one completing a pass (starter J.J. McCarthy was the only one to complete more than one).

Running back Blake Corum scored five rushing touchdowns, matching the record set by Hassan Haskins in the Ohio State game last year.

That said, there are a bunch of things you may not know about Michigan’s 59-0 win over Connecticut. The sports information department at MGoBlue.com put together some facts and tidbits you may not have known about the game, including players who got in for the first time and records set.

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Notes/tidbits:

• The Wolverines are 3-0 in all-time matchups with the Huskies. All of the contests have been played since 2010.

• Michigan completed a 3-0 nonconference schedule to begin the season. U-M is 18-0 in nonconference home games under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

• The Wolverines have 40-plus point victories in each of the first three games (51-7, 56-10, 59-0). The last time Michigan won three straight games with a scoring margin of 40 points or more was during the 1991 season, when it beat Minnesota, 52-6, Purdue, 42-0 and Northwestern, 59-14.

• The Maize and Blue piled 59 points on the Huskies. The Wolverines’ top-ranked scoring offense, which entered the game posting 53.5 points per game, surpassed its average.

• Michigan’s 59-0 victory marks the eighth-largest margin of victory in U-M history and the largest since 2016. It is Michigan’s first shutout since 2019 against Rutgers.

• Running back Blake Corum matched the U-M record with five rushing touchdowns (four in the first half), giving him a team-high seven total for the season (all rushing). This is the fifth multi-touchdown game of Corum’s career and a new career high.

• Only Corum, Ron Johnson (1968, Wisconsin) and Hassan Haskins (2021, Ohio State) have scored five times in one game in Michigan history.

• Corum’s four first-half rushing touchdowns today also put him in elite company. Only Corum and Ed Shuttlesworth (1972, Minnesota) have scored four first-half touchdowns in program history.

• The following players made their collegiate debuts in today’s game: defensive back Zeke Berry, quarterback Jayden Denegal, running back Henry Donohue, wide receiver Logan Forbes, offensive lineman Andrew Gentry, offensive lineman James Kavouklis, quarterback Andy Maddox, quarterback Brandon Mann and offensive lineman Dan Taraboi.

• U-M defense has forced three turnovers through the first three weeks (two interceptions, one forced fumble).

• In each of U-M’s first three games to start the season, the opponent has failed to score in the first half.

• Wide receiver A.J. Henning had his first career punt return touchdown (61 yards) on his 38th career attempt. U-M last returned a punt for a touchdown when Donovan Peoples-Jones did against Nebraska (Sept. 22, 2018).

• Henning, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Maryland last year, is the fourth player in Michigan history with a touchdown via kick and punt return in his career (Steve Breaston, Desmond Howard and Dave Raimey).

• Quarterback Alan Bowman‘s 20-yard touchdown pass to running back Leon Franklin in the fourth quarter marked the first touchdown in each of their U-M careers.

• Defensive back Caden Kolesar blocked a punt to end UConn’s first possession of the second half. It was the first blocked punt of his career and helped set up U-M’s third touchdown of the day.

• Defensive lineman George Rooks recovered the first fumble of his career to help set up U-M’s first-half field goal. The turnover marked three forced by the U-M defense so far this year.

• U-M has allowed 17 points through the first three weeks of the season, the fewest points allowed in that span since the 2003 season (10).

• Before today, the last time Michigan blocked a punt and returned a different punt for a touchdown in the same game was Sept. 22, 2018, against Nebraska. In that game, Donovan Peoples-Jones returned a 60-yard punt for a touchdown and the Wolverines blocked two Cornhusker punt attempts (Marshall, Metellus).

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Five takeaways: Michigan football defeats UConn

Pure domination by Michigan! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 4 Michigan played its third-straight home game to start the season and on Saturday the Wolverines hosted the 1-2 Connecticut Huskies.

Michigan thrashed UConn, 59-0, in its last game before Big Ten play starts next week. The Wolverines had their first shutout of the season.

The Wolverines took a 38-0 lead at halftime and it was smooth sailing in the second half — or maybe it was after a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

Michigan played its starters for the first series in the second half before turning it over to the backups. The J.J. McCarthy-led Wolverines totaled 467 yards of total offense and the Wolverines’ defense created havoc against a lowly UConn Huskies team. The maize and blue only allowed 110 yards of total offense to the Huskies and Michigan recovered a ‘non-forced’ fumble by UConn.

Both Alex Orji and Alan Bowman come in during the second half to lead touchdown drives, and Leon Franklin had his first-career rushing touchdown. It was a great day for the Wolverines that don’t see the field much. The maize and blue played eight different quarterbacks.

Here are our five takeaways after Michigan defeated UConn on Saturday.

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Michigan football vs. UConn: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Sept. 17, 2022

Don’t miss the game! #GoBlue

No. 4 Michigan football (1-0) plays unranked Connecticut (1-2) on Saturday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Huskies had a cataclysmic start to the 2022 season, losing starting QB Ta’Quan Roberson — the Penn State transfer — in Week 0 in the loss to Utah State. Since then, multiple other players have gone down, including running back Brian Brewton.

For the Wolverines, fans will get another chance to see what new starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy brings to the table before the maize and blue move on to Big Ten play next week. There are some injury questions; several players could probably go if necessary, but may be held out due to the opponent.

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The maize and blue are heavy favorites in this one. Here’s when you should tune in to see the game and more:

Michigan football vs. UConn: Prediction, point spread, odds, best bet

If you’re going to bet the game, this is what you need to know! #GoBlue

The Michigan Wolverines play the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, and if you’re looking to do some last-minute betting research, you’re in luck! We’ll give you the latest point spread, money line odds and over/under number, as well as the information you’ll need to make the smartest bet at BetMGM.

The game starts at none EDT and can be seen on ABC.

The Wolverines are rolling at 2-0, while the Huskies stand at 1-2 — already having matched their win total in 2021 — two teams coming from different trajectories. While head coach Jim Mora is working to change things at UConn, he’s aware his team enters Ann Arbor completely outmatched.

Michigan is one of many Big Ten teams still undefeated. In fact, all of the teams in the vaunted East division are unbeaten, while only one team in the West, Minnesota, remains so.

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Here is everything you need to know about the Wolverines’ Week 3 game against the Huskies.

Preview and Predictions: Michigan football vs. UConn

Can’t wait to see Michigan dominate this one!

Preview

The No. 4 Michigan Wolverines will square off with Connecticut on Saturday for the third-straight home game to start the 2022 season. After his nearly flawless performance against Hawaii, sophomore J.J. McCarthy has the keys to the kingdom in Ann Arbor after Jim Harbaugh named him the starter for the Wolverines.

The maize and blue are heavy favorites once again this week against an up-and-coming UConn team. The Huskies have one of the smallest rosters in college football, but UConn made a splashy hire after Randy Esdall stepped down from the program midway thru last season. His replacement was Jim Mora, who has an NFL coaching pedigree to his name along with coaching at UCLA.

After going just 1-11 last season, the Huskies have already tied their win total from 2021. Connecticut is 1-2 this season after losing to Utah State and Syracuse and beating Central Connecticut.

Offensively, UConn has the 107th-ranked scoring offense that averages 20.7 points per game and the 104th-ranked total offense that generates 337.3 yards per game.

The Huskies will have their work cut out for them going up against a Michigan defense that allows 8.5 points per game and the 13th-ranked defense that allows 236 yards per game.

Jim Mora brought in over 40 transfers when he was hired and one of those transfers was former Penn State quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson. Roberson became the starter, but he will miss the rest of the season after an injury in Week 0. This week, Michigan will go up against a true freshman quarterback, Zion Turner. Turner has thrown for 373 yards and four touchdowns in three games. But he has thrown three interceptions as well.

What UConn does well is run the football. The Huskies are the 34th-ranked rushing attack in all of football gaining 205.3 yards per game. Sophomore Nathan Carter is the lead back — he is the eighth-leading rusher in football — and he has 384 yards thru three games. Carter averages 6.5 yards per carry and he has one touchdown credited to his name. Pro Football Focus is extremely high on the UConn rushing attack. PFF says that the Huskies are the 11th-ranked rushing attack and gives them an 83.8 grade. UConn also has a 77.6 run-blocking grade, which ranks them 13th according to PFF.

The UConn strength is also the Wolverines’ strength on defense. Michigan has the third-ranked rushing defense by PFF with a 92.9 grade. The maize and blue allow 111 yards per game on the ground.

At receiver, UConn has already lost its top two pass catchers. Cam Ross broke his foot in fall camp and Keelan Marion was injured in Week 0. Sophomore Aaron Turner has emerged as the go-to guy. Turner has 11 receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown.

The UConn offense has a minus-five turnover margin. The Huskies have eight turnovers in three games, and the Huskies have allowed plenty of pressure to their quarterbacks. UConn allows a little more than one sack per game, so this is a game set up for the Michigan edge defenders to get their hands on the quarterback.

Defensively, UConn has the 101st-ranked defense. The Huskies allow 418 yards per game and they also give up 27.3 points per game.

But what’s unusual about UConn is it doesn’t have a defensive coordinator. The Huskies had Lou Spanos as the defensive coordinator, but he took a personal leave of absence in August. That leaves Jim Mora collaborating with his defensive position coaches on the defensive side of the ball.

The Huskies allow 165 yards on the ground and 253 yards thru the air per game, so the Michigan offense should be able to do what it wants to do. It could be another game where J.J. McCarthy has a good tune-up before Big Ten play begins next week.

The leader of the UConn defense would be junior linebacker Jackson Mitchell. Mitchell leads the entire country with 39 tackles. He also leads the Huskies with 1.5 sacks. The other linebacker, Ian Swenson has 25 tackles.

There are four other players on the team that has one sack credited to their name.

UConn has recorded one interception this season. Linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle has it.

With how prolific the Wolverines’ offense looked last week against Hawaii, Michigan just may be able to replicate the same results this Saturday against UConn.

The game can be seen on ABC at noon EDT.

See the next page for our staff predictions.

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What they said: UConn coach Jim Mora thinks Michigan looks better than ever

Mora really, really appreciates the Michigan defense!

First-year head coach Jim Mora inherited a Connecticut football team that went 1-11 in 2021, but Mora is a well-known coach with an NFL pedigree and coaching big-time college football programs like UCLA.

Mora has already matched last year’s win total by defeating Central Connecticut in Week 1, but the Huskies lost to Utah State and most recently, Syracuse.

UConn will travel to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan in Week 3 and Mora. The Huskies will be playing in front of the largest crowd that they have played under in a long time. Mora said that he has been prepping his team about playing in the Big House. He said that his team needs to control what it can control and to try and block out any outside noise going into the game.

“I shouldn’t shake my head no because that’d be a lie,” said Mora. “Yeah, I’ve talked to them about it, but I’m not going to talk about it this week. We talked about it — and we talk about everything — in camp. We talk about all these things. Our objective is to go into any place we go and shut out the noise and concentrate on things that we can control and that’s what’s happening in front of us on the field — not what’s happening around us in the stands, not the noise, not our opponent. It’s just what we can control and what we can control is our ability to focus during the game, on what’s happening on that green grass with the white lines on it. And so I think it’s a distraction if you talk about other things, and so that’s our mindset. “

For the third straight week, the Wolverines are going into their game as a heavy favorite. Mora thinks his team is ready for the challenge that Michigan will present them. He called the Wolverines a ‘well-coached team that has zero holes’. The former Bruins’ head coach noted that Michigan went to the College Football Playoff last season, but he believes that the maize and blue look even better than they did last season.

“Great opportunity for us to play against one of the premier teams in college football,” said Mora. “A team that played in the College Football Playoff last year and, to me, looks better than ever.  Obviously, they’re extremely well-coached. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re fast, they’re skilled. They have their sights set on a national championship — as they should be. They’re certainly worthy of that goal and expectation when you look at their film.”

“This is a team with zero holes. As you look at them, they do not have a weakness. This is gonna be a great challenge for our young men. We’re gonna go up there and we’re gonna fight and compete like crazy and do all we can to try to win the game against a very good team. We’re not going there for any other reason but to give it our best effort to win the game, and I think it should be a fantastic, fantastic opportunity and challenge for our guys. And I think they relish this opportunity.”

Last week, UConn lost to Syracuse, 48-14. The Huskies could only muster 202 yards of total offense in Week 2. But now Mora and UConn will be facing the 11th-ranked scoring defense (8.5 points-per-game) and the 13th-ranked defense (236 yards-per-game) in Michigan.

Mora compared both teams. He said Syracuse did a lot to try and penetrate the Huskies, but Michigan is built differently. Mora said that the Wolverines are big, fast, and physical. He said that Michigan will try and pound the opposing team into oblivion. He really appreciates the way Michigan plays defense, and he enjoys watching them play defense — unless his team is the one playing.

“Structurally they’re different,” said Mora. “Syracuse did a lot more in terms of trying to penetrate. Michigan is — said to start this thing — they’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical, they run to the ball and hit you. They have great confidence in what they do. They sit on routes because they know they can, because they’ve got the speed to go deep with people. They’re very violent with their hands when they disengage. When you watch their film, you’re not going to see guys loafing. You’re not going to see guys on the ground. And they just try to pound you into oblivion. They get off the field on third down. They stop the run. They get off the field on third down and they’re fun to watch on defense — unless you’re getting ready to play them.  I appreciate great defense and so I appreciate the way they play.”

UConn and Michigan will play Saturday at noon EDT on ABC.

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UConn Huskies Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

UConn College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

UConn Huskies Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UConn season with what you need to know and keys to the season.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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UConn Huskies Preview
Head Coach: Jim Mora Jr., 1st year at UConn
7th year overall, 46-30. 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 1-11
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
UConn Top 10 Players | UConn Schedule

UConn Huskies Preview 2022

UConn wasn’t always totally miserable at college football.

Yes, kids, there really was a time when the Huskies were good enough to get into the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma and bowl games were a regular thing. The program is coming off of ten straight losing seasons as things have gotten worse and worse.

There’s been a little bit of talent here and there – there were more than enough vulture schools out there happy to go pick away at UConn players over the last year – but nothing has worked.

It took a huge effort to get by Yale for the only victory of last year, and a 2020 win over an equally hapless UMass was the lone win over an FBS program since taking down Tulsa in the middle of the 2017 season.

But that’s in the past.

New head coach Jim Mora Jr. is a good head coach who knows what he’s going, but it’s going to take an all-timer of an effort just to get this season off the ground much less be competitive in most of the games.

This is more than just a rebuild, teardown, reboot, or any other way you want to describe what Mora and his staff have to do.

This is starting from scratch, and only positive things can come from it.

UConn Huskies Preview 2022: Offense

UConn had the least efficient passing game in college football, it was the second-worst offense in the nation in total yards, and it was the second-worst scoring attack.

It keeps going.

It came up with the second-least amount of first downs, it was the worst team in America on third downs, it was the second-worst O in yards per pass, and …

Again, the program is starting over. It’s going to get better because 1), it can’t get any worse, 2) the former coaching staff went WAY young and threw a slew of freshmen into the mix, and 3) …

The quarterback play should be okay. Penn State transfer Ta’Quan Roberson struggled when he had his chances, but he’s got the tools, he was a good recruit, and he’ll make the job his from the start with former starter Steven Krajewski off to Georgia State and the other options transferring, too.

Leading receiver Keelan Marion is back – he only caught 28 passes but he got five of the team’s 11 touchdown grabs – and Kevens Clercius and Aaron Turner help round out what might be the team’s biggest early strength. And then there’s Cameron Ross – the 60-catch leading target from 2019 who played just two games in the last two years.

The offensive line is going to be the biggest work in progress. The transfer portal is bringing in the options around veteran guard Noel Ofori-Nyadu and the versatile Christopher Fortin who’ll work somewhere around the inside.

RB Kevin Mensah was a good back who wasn’t used enough. he’s gone, but leading rusher Nate Carter is back after running for 578 yards and two scores.

UConn Huskies Preview 2022: Defense

The offenses was worse, but the defense was plenty bad on its own. The run D has been a problem for years, the secondary got ripped up late last season, and now the team has to go on without star DT Travis Jones – he’s now a Baltimore Raven – and with Lawl Uguak off to TCU.

However, like the offensive side, last year’s coaching staff went young, and how there’s enough experience back across the board to not be starting from scratch. It begins with …

The linebacking corps might not be all that bad. At the very least, there’s experience and quickness starting with leading returning tackler Jackson Mitchell – he made 120 stops last season – helped by the return of second-leading tackler Ian Swenson as a hybrid type of defender, and with Kentucky transfer Marquez Bembry adding some size and thump on the inside.

However …

The defensive front might take a while. There’s no replacing Jones and Uguwak was going to be a bigger factor, and now it’s a smallish, thin line that has to find more options and pass rushers.

The secondary gets all four starters back. Like other areas, this was a young group that took its lumps. Sophomore safety Durante Jones will once again be one of the team’s better tacklers, but overall this group has to come up with more big stops.

Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
UConn Top 10 Players | UConn Schedule

UConn Huskies: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

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Former Penn State QB injured in season opener with new team

This is not how former Penn State QB Ta’Quan Roberson wanted to see his fresh start play out.

Well, so much for the potential redemption story for former Penn State quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson. At least for the season opener. Hours after getting the chance to be the starting quarterback for the UConn Huskies and guiding the underdogs to an early lead against Utah State, Roberson was knocked out of the game with a knee injury.

Roberson scored the game’s first touchdown of the day, scoring on a QB sneak up the middle from the Utah State one-yard line. But Roberson’s time on the following UConn possession. On a keeper on second down, Roberson picked up five yards but left the game with an apparent knee injury. Reports indicated he hurt his right knee on the play.

It was later reported Roberson would not return to the game.

Roberson’s brief UConn debut ended with just one completion on two pass attempts for 10 yards and eight rushing yards on three carries with the one rushing touchdown.

The severity of the injury has yet to be revealed, and whether or not that information will be made available remains to be seen. But unfortunately, this was not how anyone wanted to see the former Nittany Lions quarterback’s fresh start get underway.

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